7 Career Trends To Watch For In 2014

The U.S. economy experienced its share of ups and downs in 2013.
Yet as the year comes to a close, the economy is showing signs of
improvement that should continue into 2014. The housing sector is
rebounding, the stock market has hit new highs, consumer spending
is up and unemployment is at its lowest in five years. Even with
these positive indicators, the debt issues in Washington will
continue to play a role in impeding a more accelerated jobs
recovery.

Employers are cautiously optimistic that 2014 will bring a
stronger job market, but they aren’t ready to commit to upping
their staff until the outcomes of debt negotiations and other
issues affecting economic expansion are clearer. While we’ll need
to wait until these issues are resolved to know the full impact
they’ll have on employers’ hiring plans in the New Year, job
seekers should pay attention to the following seven trends
shaping the 2014 job market, identified in
CareerBuilder’s annual job forecast:

1. Full-time, permanent hiring stalled
The uncertainties surrounding the debt ceiling will cause
employers to be more guarded in their plans to hire permanent
staff in 2014. Twenty-four percent of employers expect to hire
full-time, permanent workers – down from 26 percent last year –
yet one in ten is still undecided about recruitment plans. Nearly
one in four employers will hire at a slower rate or will hold off
on headcount expansion until the debt ceiling is resolved in the
first quarter.

2. Companies relying on temporary and contract
hiring
A trend that has been growing post-recession is for companies to
turn to contract and temporary help to meet their hiring needs.
This allows them to have flexibility in their workforce, so that
as market demands change, they can dial up or dial down staffing
as needed. Forty-two percent of employers plan to hire temporary
or contract workers in 2014, up from 40 percent last
year. Of these employers, 43 percent plan to transition some
temporary employees into full-time, permanent members of their
staff.

3. Part-time hiring on the rise
Companies will also rely more on part-time employees in the New
Year. Seventeen percent of employers expect to recruit part-time
workers over the next 12 months, up three percentage points over
last year. While various factors will influence this trend,
12 percent of all employers stated that they will likely hire
more part-time workers in 2014 due to the Affordable Care Act.

4. STEM occupations continue to grow
As the U.S. continues on its path of economic recovery, there are
certain occupations that will be a driving force behind the
rebuilding and strengthening of our economy. The technological
innovations, new products and discoveries that come from STEM
(science, technology, engineering and math) occupations help fuel
economic growth and keep the U.S. competitive in a global
marketplace. These occupations, which have been a major focus in
the past several years, will continue to remain center stage,
with more than one in four employers (26 percent) planning to
create jobs in these areas over the next 12 months.

5. Skills gap widening
While the growth of high-skill, specialized occupations is a
positive sign for the economy, human resources managers are
struggling to keep up with the demand to fill these jobs. Looking
at a subset of HR managers, 51 percent said they currently have
positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates.
Forty-six percent said these positions go unfilled for three
months or longer.

Companies have come to realize that if they wait for the perfect
candidate, he or she may never come, so they’re putting more
emphasis on training and development to help shrink the widening
skills gap. Nearly half (49 percent) of employers plan to train
people who don’t have experience in their industry or field and
hire them in 2014, up 10 percentage points over last year.
Twenty-six percent of employers are sending current employees
back to school to get an advanced degree – and covering all or
some of the expense.

6. More companies “onshoring” jobs
The U.S. government has strongly supported initiatives to bring
jobs back to America as a way to spur U.S. growth. It looks as
though the push for more “onshoring” is proving fruitful: 23
percent of companieswho offshore jobs said
they brought some of those jobs back to the U.S. in 2013. What’s
more, 26 percent plan to do so in the next 12 months, indicating
that this is not just a passing trend.

7. Compensation more competitive for specialized and
in-demand positions
In order for companies to find and retain the best talent,
they’ll need to offer competitive compensation, especially for
in-demand or hard-to-fill positions. Sales and IT – the top two
positions companies plan to hire for in the New Year – are also
where employers expect to provide the biggest salary
increases. When it comes to high-skill roles, 26 percent of
employers plan to raise starting salaries for these specialized
positions in 2014.

Looking across positions within an organization, 73 percent of
employers expect to increase compensation for existing employees
– on par with last year – while 49 percent will offer higher
starting salaries for new employees – up from 47 percent last
year.

Employers are continuing to proceed with caution with their
hiring plans as they head into 2014. Yet, as the economic issues
plaguing Washington play out over the next few months and
employers find their footing, there is greater potential for the
average monthly job creation in 2014 to exceed that of 2013.

Matt Ferguson is the CEO of CareerBuilder and author of “The
Talent Equation: Big Data Lessons for Navigating the Skills Gap
and Building a Competitive Workforce.” http://www.talentequationbook.com